And alone
by feeling brave
Summary: Anyone who has been reading my stories will know that Jazz disappeared for quite some time. This one is about what he got up while he was away. Contains violence and reference to Jazz and Prowls relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just like to write about them.

**And alone.**

Chapter 1 

In the shadow of what he suspected had once been a repair bay Jazz crouched and waited, his newly fine-tuned audios and scanners missing nothing not even the gentle hum of his new friend Hounds holographic generator that was currently hiding them for any unfriendly optics.

There were five of them, himself, Wheeljack the brilliant if slightly obsessive engineer, Hound the quiet but determined former security service recruit, Cliffjumper who Jazz knew was already eager to get to the more active part of their plan and Smokescreen who was still rather a mystery to Jazz. The mech seemed nice enough but his guarded nature made it difficult to tell what he was thinking or what he was going to do next.

"How's it looking out there?" Wheeljack whispered in his audio.

"There's one more patrol mech headed this way but once he's passed we should have a clear run. Is everybody ready?"

"You bet." Smokescreen answered. "Let's get this done."

The patrol went by as Jazz had predicted and the five Autobots left their hiding place, Hound and Cliffjumper going one way, Smokescreen another and Jazz and Wheeljack a third. Wheeljack kept just behind him leaving it to Jazz to lead him through the maze of passages that led to the Decepticon command centre. "Through that door." Jazz pointed out a few breems later. "There are three of them in there."

Wheeljack nodded and unspaced one of his gadgets. "Stay well back or it'll knock you off-line too." He warned.

Jazz stayed where he was as Wheeljack moved forward and slid the disk-shaped device under the door. A moment later a small explosion followed by the sound of three bodies hitting the floor told Jazz that everything had worked perfectly. As the door slid open Jazz was glad that he couldn't really see the still forms even if they were Decepticons but his scanners showed faint life signs in all of them so he pushed the thoughts from his processor and moved to one of the consoles.

"Still glad you met me?" Wheeljack asked as they both went to work.

"Very." Jazz grinned. It had only been a few cycles since Wheeljack had been thrown into his cell at another Decepticon base but he already considered him a good friend. "Okay I've got the hub cracked. How are you doing?" He reported shortly after.

"Nearly there. Here you set these while I finish up." He casually tossed Jazz a handful of small explosives and continued. Jazz started distributing the bombs around the main computer terminals before his scanners picked up movement headed toward them.

"We're about to have company, are you done yet?"

"Almost. I've got the plans for the invasion of Antihex, Oh Primus, Jazz there are preliminary ideas and reports about moving on Iacon. We can't let that happen."

"I can make sure they get into the right hands once we're out of here." Jazz told him.

"Done." Wheeljack said cheerfully.

"Let's hope the others are too. We're out of time."

The two of them ran out of the room and with Jazz in the lead once again sprinted down several corridors before Jazz pulled up short. "The exit's just ahead but there's a seeker in the way and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to be anywhere else."

"We'll have to drop him." Wheeljack said grimly. "You ready for this?"

"Do I get a choice?" Jazz snapped back. "He's got some damage to his right chest-plate shouldn't take much to knock him off-line."

"Just tell me when." Wheeljack responded.

Jazz waited for a moment to give Wheeljack the best chance of a clear shot before he nodded to his friend. Wheeljack stepped around the corner silently but something else caught the Decepticons attention at exactly the wrong moment and the shot went wide. "Slag." Wheeljack cursed as the seeker charged at him.

Seeing no other alternative Jazz sprang out and slammed his fist into the mechs already wounded panel. The Decepticon went down instantly sparks fizzling weakly from the hole Jazz had punched in him.

"Oh Primus forgive me." Jazz whispered as he stood over the body.

Wheeljacks hand gripped his shoulder. "You did the right thing." He said comfortingly. "He would have scrapped the pair of us if you hadn't. Now let's get out of here." He gave Jazz a gentle push to get him moving and they left the building.

"Hound and Cliffjumper are on their way." Jazz reported although his vocaliser was still shaking slightly. "And Smokescreen is already waiting for us. Everyone's clear."

"Cover you're audios." Wheeljack warned. As they took shelter behind a nearby wall Wheeljack activated the detonators and the base exploded.

"Well done mechs." Wheeljack congratulated his friends. "Move out."

Much later that cycle Jazz stood alone in one of the more rarely used rooms of the one time warehouse that the others had taken over for their own sometime before Jazz had joined them. His optics stared blindly at the night sky high above him. Several vorns earlier before he had lost his sight he had found the stars calming and although he hardly ever used the habit anymore he had decided that it was worth a try as nothing else was working.

The guilt of what he had done still made him shudder occasionally but he was slowly reconciling his actions and the half drunk glass of high-grade close to his hand had helped to numb his senses a little.

His new friends had decided that it was time to leave Perihex before he had met Wheeljack as it was becoming far too dangerous and would have already gone their own ways if what they had achieved earlier hadn't been so important. The question Jazz needed to answer was where he was headed but he needed to be calm to discover that.

He drew one last, long cycle of air in through his vents and let it out slowly. "It's now or never." He told himself. A long time ago he had discovered that he could hide from the bond that would always be a part of him, it wasn't easy and left him feeling almost more alone than he could stand but he'd had a lot of practice over the vorns and he'd become so good at it that he was sure Prowl never noticed the times he hadn't been able to feel Jazz.

Draining the last of the energon Jazz slowly activated the circuits that surrounded the bond. He wasn't really sure what he was expecting but the waves of hate, hurt and pure rage that flooded into his spark caught him by surprise. He let out a yelp and sealed off the bond again before he sank to his knees. "Oh Prowl. What have I done?" he whimpered.

"Jazz are you alright?" Wheeljack asked as he burst into the room. "No you're not." He answered himself "What happened?"

"I… I…" Jazz sobbed unable to gather himself together well enough to talk.

"Take it slowly." Wheeljack advised. "Get your intakes under control before you try to do anything else." His friend sat down next to him and put an arm across his shoulders before he spoke again. "That's better." He said encouragingly. "Take your time."

"I'm sorry I scared you." Jazz managed to get out eventually.

"Don't you worry about that." Wheeljack said dismissively. "I'd like to know what's going on though."

"I was trying to find my bond-mate."

"Wait slow down." Wheeljack exclaimed. "You're bonded. Never would have picked you as the type…

"To settle down? I wasn't. Until I met him."

"Him?"

"I've had my fair share of femmes but Prowl was nothing like them." Jazz hesitated as he fought down the emotions that were still threatening to overwhelm him. "Anyway I looked into the bond and…" Jazz' shoulders shook at the memory.

"Easy now." Wheeljack reminded him.

"I didn't tell him anything before I left, there wasn't time and now he hates me."

"I'm sure if you explained things…" Wheeljack began.

"He wouldn't listen. Not while he's like this and I don't have the strength to fight with him anymore. We weren't exactly the perfect couple before. Oh Primus what am I gonna do? I can't stay here and nothing to go back to so where am I supposed to go?"

"Well I'm headed off to Nova Cronum to join up with the Special Ops division there in the next couple of cycles. It'll be safe at least. Why don't you come with me? Just until you figure things out."

Jazz looked up at his friend in shock. "Special Ops? 'Jack what would they want with me? I'd be useless."

"The pit you would." Wheeljack snapped. "If you don't mind me saying it you've got skills, I've seen them and with training you could be slagging good."

"I don't know…"

"You think I'm going to leave you here alone?"

"Alright." Jazz relented. "I'll come but I'm making no promises as to how long I stay."

"Did I ask you to make any?" Wheeljack asked. "Now let's go and get some recharge. I'd like to leave early. Okay?"

Jazz nodded and still feeling rather dazed by all that he'd been through he made his way to his berth. Recharge was a long time coming though; his mind flittered between the possibilities joining up presented and thoughts of Prowl. He couldn't stop hoping that eventually he would be able to return to his lover but in the meantime he was determined that he would carry on in anyway he could.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just like to write about them.

**And alone.**

Chapter 2

For the first time in half a vorn Wheeljack felt safe. Nova Cronum was more of a fortress than a city and the Autobot faction was under no threat. The only thing he really had to worry about was Jazz, the mech hadn't said much about anything since they had left Perihex the cycle before, Wheeljack knew pretty much what was wrong but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"How you doing Jazz?" He asked hoping for a response.

Jazz looked over at him with those horribly black optics and shrugged. "I'm still not sure I should be here." He admitted.

"You don't have to stay but at least you'll…"

"Be safe here." Jazz finished for him. "Yeah I heard you the first three dozen times but look at this place would you? It's built for warriors not mechs like me."

"From what you've told me you've been fighting this war for a good few vorns now, if that doesn't make you a warrior then what does?" Wheeljack pointed out.

Jazz shrugged again and lapsed into silence again.

A large mech stepped infront on them. "Designations?" He snapped challengingly.

"Wheeljack and Jazz." Wheeljack answered for them. "You're expecting me but I didn't know that Jazz was coming until the last minute so…"

"You're the engineer I was told about? That's fine" his attention switched to Jazz "What can you do?" the mech barked.

"Err…" Jazz began doubtfully.

"He was working as an informant for Sentinel Prime in Iacon but had to go to Perihex on personal business just before the city fell, he's the reason I escaped the Decepticons and he's got a real talent for cracking hubs and finding information. I've seen him in a couple of fights and he can handle himself." Wheeljack reeled off quickly.

"All that true?"

"I guess." Jazz nodded.

"Even the part about the hubs? Those thing's are tough to filter through."

"Yours isn't too difficult." Jazz answered with a slight smile.

"What? Red Alert would blow a fuse if you went anywhere near that."

"The mechs nearly blown three since I entered the city walls but none of them were because of me. He's wired tight isn't he?"

Wheeljack forced himself to stifle a chuckle at the indignant look on the guards faceplate and asked. "So are you gonna let us in or shall we just stand here and rust?" he asked.

The mech took a step back to his post and nodded them through but as an after thought he grabbed Jazz' arm and in a low voice warned him. "Stay away from the hub in the future. Red doesn't like others poking around in it and if he find you he will have you up on charges."

"Understood." Jazz nodded.

As they made their way through the base Wheeljack felt himself relax but he couldn't help but notice that Jazz was looking more and more worried. His return to his usual cocky self had been brief and even the way he walked had changed to a far more cautious step that made hardly any noise. 

"Hey you two!" A big red mech called. "Are you the newbies?"

"Jazz and Wheeljack." Wheeljack told him. "Why?"

"I'm just about to start some hand to hand training. You are required to join in."

"Don't waste any time do they?" Jazz muttered.

"Welcome to Nova Cronum." The other mech snapped. "There. That's the formalities dealt with. I'm Inferno, commander of the best sabotage team the Autobots have to offer and one of the most impatient 'bots you'll ever have the misfortune to meet. Now get your sorry afts in there."

With a slight shrug to Wheeljack Jazz moved forward into a training room where eight other mechs were waiting.

"Okay. Form up. One mech from each of the line step out and let's see what you've got." Ordered Inferno.

The two mechs nervously did as they were told, it was a clumsy fight to watch and Wheeljack found himself counting down the line to see who he would be fighting instead of watching. "D'you wanna switch?" He asked Jazz.

"Why?"

"'Cause the mech you'll be up against is bigger than you."

"Since when did that matter?" Jazz grinned.

"He looks like he knows what he's about too." Wheeljack added. He was teasing the other mech now and happy to see that Jazz seemed to have resumed him usual attitude toward life.

"You sayin' I don't?" Jazz chuckled.

Another pair took the place of the previous two and started their match. "Five credits on the big one?" Jazz asked good-humouredly.

"Done." Wheeljack nodded. "He's holding back some."

"He's just weighing things up."

The "big one" did win eventually although the match seemed pretty even for a while.

"Told you." Jazz smiled before he stepped out to take his turn. Wheeljack watched his friend closely as he took his place, smiling as he noticed that Jazz' stance had chanced again, he still walked softly but there was a grace in his stride that Wheeljack had seen before and told him that Jazz meant business.

He also noticed that the other mech seemed to as well. He was a head taller than Jazz, broader too and glaring at his opponent. The first three blows he put in Jazz either dodged or blocked without much effort but the forth hit him squarely in the chest plate and Wheeljack couldn't help wincing as Jazz landed in a crouch a few feet from where he had been standing.

"Okay. Next." Inferno called.

"No." Jazz growled. "I'm not done yet."

"Fair enough. Carry on." Their instructor consented.

"He's didn't have to do that." The mech next to Wheeljack commented.

"That's not the way Jazz sees things." Wheeljack informed him.

"Jazz? Wasn't he a musician vorns ago?"

"So he tells me."

Jazz was grinning by this point and his opponent seemed to find that slightly unnerving. He landed a few good hits (but to be fair so had the other mech) before Jazz suddenly dropped low, kicked his legs out from under him so quickly that he had no time to catch himself and he landed on his back with a heavy clang.

"That's enough for me." The other mech said with a grin that Jazz returned before they both moved off to join the group of mechs who had already had their go.

By the time Wheeljack had finished his match that ended when he landed in his aft despite his opponent being smaller than he was Jazz was happily chatting away with the mech he had fought. "'Jack this is Springer. Springer, Wheeljack."

The cycles went by quickly after that Wheeljack split his time between training and his new lab where his main job was to create new and exciting ways of causing the Decepticons spark attacks.

He was please to see that Jazz had settled in well, he'd made new friends including Springer and his confidence had returned completely as he proved time and time again to himself and the others that his lack of sight made little difference mostly thanks to the scanners he'd picked up over the vorns.

Those scanners were one of Wheeljacks pet projects and he spent a fair portion of his off-duty tinkering with them as Jazz demanded better results. His only real regret was that he could find no way of reactivating his optics but Jazz assured him that it didn't matter every time he mentioned the subject.

Late one cycle as Wheeljack finished the latest up-grade he'd worked out Jazz suggested going down to the rec room for a while before they turned in. Wheeljack agreed and the friends headed out to see what the other members of their group were up to.

Not long after they arrived Red Alert the chief of security barged in to the room and pointed and accusing finger at Jazz. "You." He growled. "You've been told politely to stay out of my systems, you've been ordered and I've had enough."

"I haven't done anything." Jazz protested. "Inferno ordered me to stay away after I warned him that a seeker had been spotted not far from the training ground we were using that was four cycles ago and I have."

"The pit you have!" Red Alert screamed. "You're monitoring everything and probably reporting everything you hear to Megatron."

"Hey that's enough Red Alert." Wheeljack put in. "Keeping an audio out for trouble is one thing but Jazz is no Decepticon spy."

Red Alert spun to face Wheeljack and his optics glowed fiercely. "One more word out of you and you'll be joining him in the brig." He snarled. "And as for you." He snapped back to Jazz. "You'll be lucky if I don't have you deactivated."

"On what grounds?" Jazz demanded. "You haven't even checked my internal logs."

"I know just how devious you are so why should I trust your logs."

"This is insulting." Jazz snarled. "I don't have to take this." He made to move away but Red Alert stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"The only place you're going is the brig." Red Alert growled.

"The pit I am." Jazz snapped right back.

Red Alert twisted his arm behind and pinned him up against the nearest wall. "I've called the security team. You're under arrest for treason."

"Get your slaggin' hands off 'a me." Jazz demanded.

"This." Red Alert sneered giving his arm another yank that made Wheeljack wince in sympathy. "Is no less than you deserve traitor."

For a moment Jazz was completely still, his head down, his stance relaxed and Wheeljack wondered if he should warn the other mech that he was really on dangerous ground but he didn't get the chance. Jazz threw his head back as hard as he could driving his helm into Red Alerts face, in the same moment he twisted forcing the security officer off him until the grip was broken at which point Jazz grabbed him by the jaw and pulled their faces together so that they were optic to optic.

"Take a good look Red." He hissed. "This is what the Decepticons did to me, they blinded me and the only thing I did was be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've lived in darkness for the last thirty vorns because of them, never seeing the faceplates of the people I've met, missing the smiles and the caring looks my lover used to give me every cycle, not even knowing what the sparkling we raised was really like. Look at me slag it and tell me that I look like a traitor."

"I…I…" Red Alert stammered.

"That's enough!" Bellowed Inferno. "What in the name of Primus is goin' on here?"

"This glitching excuse of a mech accused me of being a Decepticon agent." Jazz answered but he never turned his face away from Red Alerts.

"Aw Red not again." Inferno moaned. "What did he do?"

"He's was in my files."

"I wasn't." Jazz retorted. "But someone else was." He added thoughtfully. "And by the way I'm offended that you thought it was me. This is clumsy, I'll be surprised if he found anything he could make sense of."

"Any clues left behind?" Inferno asked.

"I can give you better than that. The feed is still active, runs about half a mega mile out toward Antihex."

"Send a team out to check." Inferno ordered one of the mech who had come in with him. "Jazz I'm afraid you'll have to spend three cycles in the brig for assaulting an officer but I'll make sure no other charges are added."

"Thank you." Jazz said gratefully and he finally released his grip on Red Alert. "See what happens when you listen rather than shout." He hissed before he walked out calmly and in the direction of the cells.

Late the next cycle and after a lot of pleading Wheeljack managed to get permission to visit Jazz. He was worried that being alone might cause him to slip back into the state he had been in when they arrived but when Jazz greeted him with a warm smile he pushed the fears aside.

"For someone in a cell you're looking rather pleased with yourself." He observed. "I hope you're not planning anything or Red'll have your armour."

"Since when did I plan anything?" Jazz asked innocently. "And I couldn't give a slag about Red, I won't be here much longer anyway and he has no authority outside Nova Cronum."

"You're leaving? But you've done so well here?"

"Apparently." Jazz grinned. "You just missed Inferno, he's offered me a place in his unit as soon as my training's finished."

"Oh." Wheeljack whispered. He'd known all along that Jazz probably wouldn't be around for long but knowing he'd been right didn't offer him any comfort.

"Don't be like that 'Jack. I'll be around and only Primus can know what will happen to us in the future."

"I just hope he looks after you."

"He's been doing that for a very long time." Jazz said confidently. "Thankfully he hasn't got bored yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just like to write about them.

Authors note: This chapter came out of two things. First a question from Silveriss about whether or not Optimus remembered playing with Bluestreak as a youngling and helping Jazz home. The answer was yes but it had been a long time and all of them had changed a lot so he wouldn't necessarily recognise them immediately. Yes I know that it's been a while and I've tried to work it into other chapters but it just didn't want to work. And second a conversation with a friend of mine about Ultra Magnus that got me thinking about him and things went from there. I'll also say that for some reason I always think of the "Ultra" part of his name as a title kind of like "Prime" I don't know why but it makes sense to me. Anyway that's enough of me babbling. I hope you enjoy the chapter and reviews or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks for reading.

**And alone.**

Chapter 3 

The courage some mechs possessed never ceased to amaze Magnus. The war that had raged for nearly as long as he had been alive had forged some surprising warriors and the mech lying on the table before him was no exception.

He had first met Jazz when he wasn't much more than a sparkling, he hadn't thought much back then about how difficult life must have been for him but since they had become reacquainted about a vorn ago he had occasionally found it hard not to just stand and stare at his determination.

The last couple of cycles hadn't been easy on Magnus. He'd received a message telling him that his makers other creation Optimus was trapped behind enemy lines and as one of the nearest soldiers he would be among the unit one to going in after him.

Magnus hadn't even thought about not going, sharing a creator didn't necessarily make two mechs brothers, sometimes they would never even meet but he and Optimus had been raised to look after each other although as the younger of the two it was he usually was the one being cared for. He had seen being part of the search and rescue as a way of thanking his brother for all that time but he had known from the start that it was too dangerous to go alone so he had asked around for volunteers.

Jazz had been the first to sign up, he hadn't even asked for details of the mission but if past experience was anything to go by he had probably known more about it than he did anyway.

So off they had gone, he and Jazz had managed to convince several others to join them but Magnus had found it difficult to keep track of them as all he could really think about was getting his brother back safely.

The terrain itself had caused Jazz a lot more trouble than Magnus knew he would ever admit. The ground out in the spaces between the cities was treacherous and Jazz had needed most of his scanners just to keep his feet. At one point Magnus had asked the older mech how many of those things he had. Jazz' response had been a wide grin and two words. "A lot."

They had eventually found the place where Optimus and the rest of his team had been hiding but the Decepticons had gotten there first and attacked. The element of surprise was only reason any of them had escaped and in Magnus' opinion Jazz had fought like a hero and saved several lives before one of their enemies had blasted him in the back.

He'd been the one to pick Jazz up and carry his barely on-line body back to the nearest Autobot city, which happened to be the fortress like Nova Cronum. Several medics had swarmed over them as soon as they had arrived, a mech named Wheeljack had taken Jazz from him and told him to get himself seen to before he did anything else.

A cycle later and everyone else that could be saved had been repaired. Optimus had been stunned when Magnus reminded him that he had met Jazz once before although he admitted he barely remembered the event. He had wanted to stay until Jazz was functional again to thank him but orders had come through for him to return to Iacon so Magnus had taken on that responsibility and gone to the med-bay.

It had been an agonising wait but he was currently watching a medic replace the last pieces of Jazz' armour so he knew it was nearly over. At a nod from Wheeljack the medic moved back and the mech brought Jazz' systems back on-line.

"C'mon Jazz I know you're in there somewhere." He called encouragingly as he tapped the top of Jazz' helm lightly.

The first thing Jazz muttered was unintelligible but in the quiet of the med-bay Magnus also caught the faint sound of scanners powering up and flicking around the room so he guessed that Jazz was probably more alert than he was making out.

"Hey Wheeljack." Were the next words.

"How do you feel?"

"Stupid question." Jazz muttered as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Probably." Wheeljack admitted. "But it seemed appropriate."

Jazz smiled then although Magnus could tell that it was only half-sparked. There seemed to be something bothering the mech but he wasn't sure if he should ask what it was. Before he could even move Jazz seemed to realise that he was present and looked in his direction. "Did everyone get out okay?"

"Optimus' unit lost two more from injuries incurred before we could get to them but our team are all fine. You're the last to still be in the med-bay." Magnus answered him.

Jazz nodded once and looked down.

"What is it?" Wheeljack asked softly.

After a long blast on his vents Jazz spoke hesitantly. "I saw one of them go down on my scanners, it happened so fast and there was nothing I could do…"

"Don't blame yourself." Wheeljack comforted him.

"Let me finish." Jazz pleaded. "I thought… just for a moment… I was sure… that was Prowl… I know it wasn't, I can still feel the bond but…"

"Hey. Easy now." Wheeljack soothed.

"He's been in my thoughts a lot lately so it's not surprising that my scanners picked up the similarities but…" He trailed off and looked toward Wheeljack uncertainly.

"Are you thinking that it might be time for you to go back to him?" Wheeljack inquired.

"I miss him so much." Jazz admitted.

Magnus shifted his weight uncomfortably and wondered if maybe he should leave the two mechs alone, his movement caught Jazz' attention and he looked round. "It's okay Magnus. I'm alright really just a little shaken up." He said lightly.

"Something tells me that might be the understatement of the vorn." Magnus replied. "I don't know who Prowl is or what's happened but I only have to look at you to know that something is badly wrong."

"Prowl was the mech I was with when we first met." Jazz reminded him. "He's also my bond mate. Let's just say that the rest is complicated."

"As you wish." Magnus nodded.

"You never answered my question." Wheeljack reminded Jazz firmly.

"Because I don't have the answer." Jazz whispered.

"What does your spark tell you?"

Jazz went completely still at that point and feeling that this was something he shouldn't watch Magnus studied the floor and only looked up when Jazz spoke again.

His voice was quiet and full of emotion as he said. "He's not angry at me anymore but he still feels cold." Jazz shivered as if the chill was real. "He's determined, focused on helping to end the war and I have to help him but going back won't do that."

"You're sure?" Wheeljack questioned.

"I am." Jazz said firmly. "I can be useful here and that's more important than my feelings. If I learned one thing from him it's that sometimes we have to be patient to get what we want. So I'll wait for now and use the hope that in the future I'll see him again to keep me going when nothing else can."

"You're a stronger mech than I am Jazz." Wheeljack admitted. "Get some recharge, you're body's still repairing itself and you need to rest."

Jazz lay down obediently and was soon deep in recharge.

"I'd better go." Magnus said quietly. "Give me a call when he comes back on-line. I still have to thank him for all the help he gave Optimus and I."

"Will do." Wheeljack nodded and Magnus left the room. 

As he walked through the halls he couldn't help thinking about the mech he had just left and what he had witnessed. "There is a true example of courage." He mused.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just like to write about them.

**And alone.**

Chapter 4 

They'd been on the trail of the Decepticon known as Shockwave for almost half a vorn before it finally led them to Crystal City but Jazz had barely stopped until that moment. He knew that Shockwave was cruel, suspected that he had been involved in the destruction of Uraya (although he had no proof) and was determined that he would not slip through his fingers.

Just the energy waves coming off the city was enough to make Jazz pull up and watch but he wished that he could see it. He'd visited the same place a long time ago, before the war, before he'd even met Prowl and he knew that it was beautiful.

"Now that just shows you what we're capable of doesn't it." Wheeljack said approvingly as he stepped up next to him. "Hope Shockwave doesn't cause any trouble here."

"He's on his own, deep in Autobot territory so I doubt he will." Jazz observed. "But the mech's a monster so let's get him out as quick as we can." With a quick shake he focused his attention on what needed doing and pushed on.

Three other Autobots followed him. His old friend Wheeljack first, then two younger mechs named Cliffjumper and Smokescreen who Jazz had met back in Perihex and recruited to his unit not long after his promotion to commander.

To Jazz being back in a city felt wonderful, the noise of it, the excitement and everything else greeted his senses and scanners like old friends. "Any idea how to find him in all this?" Wheeljack asked him.

"Decepticon energy signatures are just different enough from ours for me to follow him." Jazz explained. "And he went that way." He pointed down a road that led straight through the city. "I don't think he's intending to stay here. He's just hoping that we'll get distracted for long enough so he can slip away."

The four mechs hurried on, the trail twisted and turned, taking different roads in what seemed to Jazz to be a desperate attempt to confuse them but Jazz managed to keep track of him and eventually they started to gain ground.

"I see him." Smokescreen cried triumphantly as he pointed through the crowd.

"Sorry sparkling of a glitch won't get away this time." Cliffjumper snapped and he levelled his cannon at the mech who had caused them so much trouble.

"Not here Jumper. There are too many civilians around." Jazz warned "Wheeljack, Smokescreen get ahead of him, there's a side street up a head, wait for him to pass it then force him back and all of you remember that we want him alive. He's to stand trail for what he's done."

"You got it Boss." Wheeljack responded enthusiastically before he transformed and headed off with Smokescreen close behind him.

"Great they get all the action." Cliffjumper moaned.

Jazz shook his head. "No. We'll be the ones waiting for him." He snapped. "Now move it!"

For once Cliffjumper had the sense to keep quiet as they got into position, there was only one 'bot close by and he stopped dead when he saw the two armed mechs coming toward him. "I don't want to fight." He said calmly.

"Then I suggest you run." Cliffjumper snarled.

"Too late for that, just hide and pray that we win." Jazz corrected as Shockwave rounded the corner and headed straight for them.

"Oh slag." The mech cursed.

"Where'd he go?" Jazz heard Cliffjumper ask but he didn't have time to worry about anything other than the Decepticon.

"One chance Shockwave." He warned. "You're surrounded and outnumbered."

"You really think four of you outmatch me?" Shockwave droned.

"Jumper, Screen." Jazz yelled.

Both mechs did exactly as Jazz had hoped, Cliffjumper opened fire while Smokescreen who was still in his alt-mode raced in trailing a thick cloud of dust and exhaust fumes behind him.

Somewhere in the middle of the chaos there was an explosion and rubble rained down on them but Jazz refused to be distracted by any of it. "'Jack now." He bellowed and in the same moment he released the energy net that he'd been saving for the occasion.

"Got him." Wheeljack confirmed unnecessarily but the pleasure in his voice was enough for Jazz.

"Well done mechs." Jazz congratulated them.

"Who is that?" The mech from before asked quietly.

"One of the Decepticons worst war criminals." Jazz answered without turning around "I thought I told you to hide."

"I did. It seemed safe to stop."

"You hardly moved the whole time." Jazz snapped.

"Jazz he disappeared when you told him to." Cliffjumper put in.

"Maybe you should get your optics checked." The mech said clearly amused by the confusion he was causing.

"My optics." Jazz growled as he looked over his shoulder. "Haven't worked in vorns."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." The mech said instantly sounding embarrassed. "Let me explain, my creator didn't want me to get involved in the war so she fitted me with an invisibility field that she invented. I can disappear at will but I guess it doesn't make much difference to a blind mech."

"Must come in handy." Jazz mused. "Look we gotta get moving but I will say this. If you ever want a job in Special Ops tell the C.O. that Jazz said you'd probably be pretty good at it…" He cut himself off realising that he didn't know the mechs name.

"Mirage." He filled in for him. "I'll bear it in mind but I can't see it happening."

Jazz gave him a nod before he dismissed the mech from his thoughts. "Okay. Move it. Next stop Autobot H.Q. where hopefully there'll be a few shots of high-grade with our names on them. We've earned a bit of a break."

Keeping Shockwave under close guard they marched him through the city to the large building that housed the Autobot base where they were greeted as heroes. Once there prisoner was safely in the brig Jazz and Wheeljack joined the others in the bar within the complex.

There were plenty of mechs around that wanted to buy them drinks and it wasn't long before the air of celebration spread though the crowd.

Relaxed and happy but also very tired Jazz took a seat at one of the tables and surveyed the room, he'd already decided that the cup of energon in his hand would be his last before he turned in but he really wanted to just enjoy the moment for a little longer. He was almost done when his scanners picked up something familiar.

"Well there's an energy signature I'd recognise anywhere." He grinned as he turned to address the mech behind him.

"Jazz." The mech exclaimed. "Primus it's good to see you again. What are you doing here?"

"I'm with the team that brought Shockwave in." Jazz responded proudly. "Have a seat 'Breaker. It's been a long time."

"Certainly has and we've both come a long way from the bars of Iacon."

Jazz was about to confirm the statement when he realised what was different about the readings he was receiving. "Trailbreaker if you don't mind me asking what happened to your optics?

"About a vorn ago I was doing a long haul flight when the Decepticons attacked. I didn't have the energy left to put up a force field and they shot me down, made a slagging mess of me and destroyed my cargo but fortunately I wasn't too far from here, the Autobots rescued me and not just that. They've got a scientist here who's an absolute genius, he rebuilt me and designed a visor that would give me back my sight."

Jazz felt all of his systems grind to a halt at the last few words. He couldn't speak, couldn't think and could barely keep his vents working.

"I'm sure he can do the same for you." Trailbreaker anticipated. "I can take you down to meet him. If that's what you want?"

"More than anything." Jazz whispered. "You sure it's not too late for him? He might be in recharge by now."

"Doubt it. Perceptor's a real workaholic. I'm not even sure he does recharge. Come on." Trailbreaker led him through the crowd and several corridors before he knocked loudly on a door.

A mech a little shorter than Jazz answered a few moments later. "Hello Trailbreaker." He said warmly. "Can I help you?"

"Not me." Trailbreaker answered. "I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine called Jazz. I was wondering if you could help him?"

"Of coarse. Come on in. You will have to excuse the mess in here Jazz but my inventions tend to take over. Sit down there would you?"

Jazz found himself a seat and with his spark pulsing faster than it had in vorns did his best to stay still as the scientist examined him. "How long have your optics been like this?" He asked in an attempt at conversation.

"Just over twenty-seven vorns." Jazz answered. "Will that effect what you can do?"

"Not at all. I was just curious. When Trailbreaker came to me he was always disorientated but you give off no sign of that so I guessed that it had been some time. Can I just say that you have a very impressive scanner array? Is that how you know where you're going?"

"That's right. I friend of mine is an engineer. He's spent a lot of time helping me."

"Is that so? I'd like to meet him." Perceptor said thoughtfully.

"Anything you want." Jazz grinned but he couldn't keep his body from shaking any longer. "Tell me please could this really work?"

"I can find no reason as to why it should not." Perceptor informed him. "It will take me a few cycles to create the visor and your helm will have to be modified to accommodate it but once that is done you'll be able to see as well as you did before."

"Better if mine is anything to go by." Trailbreaker added.

"I can't believe it." Jazz exclaimed. "I never dared hope that…" He trailed off too overwhelmed by what he was feeling to continue.

Perceptor dismissed them not long after and knowing that he wouldn't be able to recharge for a while Jazz headed back to the bar to find a few shots of high-grade to settle his circuits. Wheeljack must have noticed that something had changed and joined them quickly. Jazz explained what had occurred with a little help from Trailbreaker when what he had to say got too much for him. It was very late when Jazz eventually reached his berth but he didn't care.

He introduced Wheeljack to Perceptor the next cycle and wasn't at all surprised that it took them less than a breem to start bouncing ideas off each other and only a little longer before the conversation started using a lot of words he wasn't even sure he wanted to understand.

Four cycles later Jazz lay down on Perceptors table, it had already been agreed that while he was out Wheeljack would up-grade his armour too. The pair of scientists had managed to perfect a compound Perceptor had been working on that would be both lighter than his current protection and stronger. He could barely contain his excitement at the idea of on-lining and being able to see but he let the other mechs concentrate and said nothing.

As always his audio sensors were the first system to come back on line, he could hear Wheeljack talking softly close by. "Hey Jazz." He said to him. "Take it slowly." He cautioned.

"Primus please let this work." He prayed before he powered up the new systems in his processor and for the first time in twenty-seven vorns light greeted his visual unit. His vents stalled at the same moment and he covered his face with hands noticing as he did so that a thick band of something that felt a little like glass covered his optics. He forced his hands away and looked around slowly pulling the room into focus before he looked around to see his friends face for the first time. "Good to see you Wheeljack." He beamed. "This… is amazing. There are so many colours. I'd forgotten them. I can't thank you enough for this. Either of you." He said as he spotted the smaller, red mech on the other side of the lab. "You must be Perceptor."

"That is correct." Perceptor nodded. "It will probably take you a few cycles to get used to all the modifications we've made so I am going to advise to not to take some time off duty."

Jazz nodded then laughed as his view of the room bobbed up and down as he did so. "Oh this is fantastic." He cried. "I need a window. I want to see the sky."

"Jazz you need to rest." Wheeljack informed him.

"No I don't." Jazz retorted. "'Jack I've missed out on so much but not any more."

"Alright but I'm coming with you."

"There's an observation platform three levels up." Perceptor told them.

"Thank you." Jazz grinned. "You have no idea how much this means to me." With those words he headed out of the lab, Wheeljack was right behind him and it didn't take them long to find the place Perceptor had told them about.

"It's beautiful." Jazz observed as he looked out across the city and then up to see the stars.

"So." Wheeljack said after a few breems of silence. "Shockwave's on his way to trial and you've got your sight back. What's next for you Jazz?"

"Me?" Jazz questioned. "Surely that should be us?"

"Not for a while." Wheeljack told him hesitantly. "I'm taking Perceptor to Nova Cronum first. The facilities are better there and with the new armour we've created there's going to be too much for him to do alone."

"Of coarse." Jazz agreed. "Hopefully it'll save a lot of lives. I'm going to take a few cycles leave anyway."

"Where will you go?" Wheeljack asked.

"Iacon." Jazz answered firmly. "I need to see Prowl and Blue. If they reject me then so be it but just to see their faces… you can't know what that would mean to me 'Jack."

"No but I have a fair idea." Wheeljack chuckled. "I wish you all the happiness in the world Jazz. You've earned it."

They stood together for a little while longer before going back into that main body of the base. "Don't about you but I could use a boost?" Wheeljack asked.

"Sounds like a good idea." Jazz nodded and they walked together to the bar.

They had barely sat down when Cliffjumper ran up. "Wheeljack I've been looking for you everywhere. Do you know where…?" he halted mid-sentence. "Jazz?"

"That's right." Jazz agreed.

"Sorry I didn't… anyway it doesn't matter."

"What's wrong?" Wheeljack asked.

"It's Shockwave. The shuttle taking him to Iacon was ambushed and I hate to tell you this but he escaped."

"Oh slag." Jazz cursed. "Find Smokescreen. We're leaving." He ordered before he looked at Wheeljack. "I'll keep you posted as to where we are. When you get bored of fixing up mechs we'll be waiting for you."

"Thank you." Wheeljack said gratefully.

"It's the least I can do." Jazz smiled.

"What about…?"

"Don't." Jazz said quietly. "I have to do this. Iacon will just have to wait. Now if you'll excuse me I have to see a mech before I go."

Wheeljack nodded in farewell and Jazz walked away to find Trailbreakers quarters. Fortunately the mech was off duty. "Everything worked then." He grinned as he answered the door.

"Perfectly. Listen 'Breaker I don't have much time but I need to thank you…"

"I couldn't leave you in the dark could I?" Trailbreaker interrupted him.

"Not just for that. For what you did in Perihex. That was more than I should ever have asked of you."

"Jazz we made it out safely." Trailbreaker reassured him. "You were the one who suggested the force fields and they've saved my life more times than I want to count since then. If anything I owe you."

"Call it even?" Jazz asked. "I wish I wasn't in such a hurry but Shockwave is on the loose and I have to at least try to catch him again."

"Let me come with you?" Trailbreaker asked. "I want to help."

"It's gonna be dangerous 'Breaker." Jazz warned him.

"Doesn't matter. It took me a while to see that this war isn't going to just go away like I wanted it too but now I want to do my part and there isn't really a lot for me to do here. I know I haven't had all the training you've had but I know I can be useful."

Jazz smiled warmly. "Okay." He agreed. "Let's go, find the bad mech."

A few breams later as he and Trailbreaker waited for the others to join them Jazz caught sight of his reflection in a pane of glass that separated two rooms. He couldn't remember the last time he had stopped to look at himself and he was a little bulkier than he recalled thanks to his up-grades but it was two things that caught his attention.

The first was the deep blue visor that covered his optics and the second was the red Autobot symbol on his chest plate. He had known it was there for a long time but he had never seen it. He nodded at himself approvingly and smiled. "It's good to know what I'm fighting for." He thought to himself.

Authors note; As usual I'm fairly certain that I'm done with this fic but with the way my mind works I never can be sure. I hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it and I can assure you that it's been a lot of fun. Until next time thank you for reading/reviewing. _Feeling Brave._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just like to write about them. 

Authors note: You have Rangersfan58 to thank for this because I'd forgotten all about it until I read the review and thought "Hang on I did that already." I originally wrote this to be the intro for Getting Found but decided to leave reintroducing Jazz until just before he met up with Prowl again so I put it to one side. I know that writing it in the first person is a bit of a break from the norm but I like it better this way.

**And alone.**

Chapter 5

Dawn is coming now and in the light of the distant sun I can see Iacon. I called this city home once; I guess it still is as I never found anywhere else to replace it. Maybe if I had done that this wouldn't seem so difficult now but only Primus knows all possibilities.

The reason why I'm travelling back to Iacon isn't the one I thought it would be. Prowl has nothing to do with it. Although if I decide to stay I know I'll end up finding him somehow. I have to see another mech first though, I've only really met him once and that was a long time ago but I helped to save his life one time and apparently he hasn't forgotten that favour. I was too badly injured to talk to him then but I know that he's been keeping an optic on me ever since.

I'm having a little trouble believing that the youngling Bluestreak played with is now Prime for two reasons. First off Sentinel always seemed invincible but now he's dead and second that such a young mech should be given the responsibility of leading the Autobots. All I can do is hope that the right decision has been made and I'll find that out soon enough.

Bluestreak. I wonder what has become of him. Has he found the love I hoped he would with Sunstreaker? Is he a warrior now? Or has some other fate found him? All I can do is hope that he's happy. That's the only wish that I ever had for him. It seems only fitting after all he gave us when he made Prowl and I into a family.

It's been thirty vorns since I last saw this sight, ten since I was last in Iacon and three since my sight was returned to me in a city that no longer stands, I still mourn its destruction, it was a place of true beauty, one of the few on my war-torn planet that refused to sacrifice that splendour and become a stronghold but that arrogance was to be the doom of it. Nothing remains now of that proud metropolis except the memories of 'bots like me.

It won't be long now before I will be able to hear the noise of the Autobot capital. I can barely wait but at the same time I feel apprehensive. I don't know what waits for me there, maybe a happy reunion with the mechs I left behind, or a fresh start with a new unit, maybe disappointment and rejection. There's no way for me to tell.

I tried to access the bond Prowl and I have the cycle before last as I started my journey but it seems that he has also figured out how to cover it up. I guess it's only fair but it doesn't make my decisions any easier. I can't even tell if he is still in Iacon, there's good a chance he is in the service of the new Prime but he could have been stationed somewhere else. I only know that he is still functional because the bond is but beyond that there is nothing.

Sorry I'm easily distracted when I'm tired and it's been three cycles since I last recharged but that won't stop me doing what I have to. I've been away from Iacon for too long, I know that, when I left I intended to return after a few cycles but the Decepticons had other plans, I spent a long time as their prisoner and after that I wanted revenge.

Once I got it my thoughts turned to my bond-mate, I wanted to be with him so badly that it hurt but I was afraid of just walking back into his life so I looked into his spark first, what I felt there nearly destroyed me, all that anger, all that hate and all of it aimed at me. For a brief moment I wanted it to kill me because it would have been easier than trying to live with it. I was saved from that by a simple act of kindness and I will never forget that.

Wheeljack and I first met when he was thrown into my cell; we quickly became friends and escaped soon after. He's always maintained that he's not the easiest of mechs to get along with but I never found that. True he can be a little obsessive but if it keeps him going then what's wrong with it? The truth of it is that he is one of the bravest mechs I know and I own him more than I can ever repay.

With his help I found something else to live for, I wasn't grateful at first, I should have been and I am now but at the time all I could think was that every step I took with him took me further away from the life I'd once had. Or maybe it was because I always wanted it to be Prowl who saved me. I honestly don't know.

This isn't really like me, I'm not the most introspective of mechs, I don't usually have the time to think beyond the moment but I've been alone and in the quiet for a while which is never good for me, I hate silence, not as much as I used to before I got my visor but I'll never be comfortable with it. For a long time my audios were my connection to the world and in the times when there is nothing for them to hear I feel more isolated than I can stand.

I'm close enough now to see that the city has changed in my absence but somehow that seems right as I have too, Primus my own creator would struggle to recognise me now. Again that's good it means that I don't have to worry about anyone recognising me before I'm ready.

All I have to concern myself with is finding a mech named Ironhide, the one who tried to contact me about the post Optimus wants me to take, he doesn't know that I got the message because of the way Special Ops communications work. It has to be that way or anyone could track us down easily and I like the idea of surprising him anyway. I want to show him just how good I am by being invisible until the last moment.

Whether or not I choose to stay depends on the answer to one question and when I have that I'll worry about the rest.

Transforming out of my alt mode I stand still to see the city with the closest thing I have to my own optics but not for long. Iacon. Prowl. To me those names mean the same thing and it almost feels like I'm looking at my lover and I know that I must answer a question before I take another step. If this meeting goes badly could I stand to leave again? No I don't think I could but then I've done a lot of things that I never thought I could do.

With my spark racing I continue forward and the sights, smells and sounds of the city greet me like old friends. I'm going to take this as a good sign. The reason may not be the one I thought it would be but I am still home.


End file.
